Helpless
by LaceBear90
Summary: Rachel has been attacked and all she wants now is her Glee family. First FanFic. Rated M Sexual assault.
1. Take me home

**Disclaimer: I, uh, Disclaim? lol**

**Please review!  
This is the first time I have published one of my stories!  
Hope you enjoy it! **

**I will continue it soon.  
**

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_"Stop!" She pleaded!  
Smack, she heard the sound before the pain formed in the shape of a hand across her face . . ._

Rachel Berry had been replaying this scene in her mind for what seemed to be forever. She had begged him to stop the entire time. She had never stopped pleading. She was furious with herself. She had that stupid rape whistle in her purse for a reason! As much as she loved her dads, she wanted nothing more that to blame the fact that she hadn't been able to stop him on the fact that she never had a mother to teach her how to use a woman's intuition. She knew she was making excuses, pretty crappy ones at that, but she would do anything to keep her mind off of him and what he had done to her.

She gave up thinking and just stilled herself. After what felt like eternity, she force her heavy eyelids to open. It was dark. The school's parking lot had been empty when Jesse had attacked her. But it had still been light out then. How long had she been there? She attempted to raise herself a little so she could lean against the dumpster to her right. It was only then that she became aware of what kind of condition she was in.

* * *

Noah "Puck" Puckerman slowly slid his old beat up truck to a stop. Jumping out, he took in his surroundings. He hadn't been in this parking lot when it was empty since he had "defaced cheerio property," as Coach Sylvester put it. But he wasn't that guy anymore. Since he joined Glee club, he was somewhat, dare he say it, civil. Whatever. He didn't like over analyzing the situation. He liked Glee club. End of discussion.

Puck started to head towards the football stadium so he could get to his locker. He had a big game tomorrow and it was unlucky if his mom didn't shine his helmet. Laugh if you will, but one of these days that stupid superstition would pay off.

He made it to the side of the front of the school. He was in his own little world until he heard her. She was making little gasps, as if she couldn't breathe. He began to search for whoever was making those pitiful noises, but nothing could prepare him for what was behind the dumpster. Her pink skirt was shredded around her legs and her white sweater was a few feet away soaked in blood. she was left only in a bra, and her panties were obviously missing. His heart dropped at the sight of blood soaking her legs and the bruises swelling on her face.

"Rach" he breathed. All he got in response was a painful moan. He could literally feel his heart break as he knelt down beside her. He gently took her face in his hands and tried to wake her, "Rach? Come on, baby, wake up. Rachel its Noah, wake up!" He felt the panic rise right before her eyelids began to flutter open. Those big brown eyes looked at him with confusion.

"Noah?" she stammered before choking on her own blood.

He supported her as she tried to cough, soothing her with his voice, "Shh, it's gonna be okay." _(What was he talking about! It was NOT going to be okay! Rachel would be forever traumatized and he was going to go to prison for killing the son of a bitch who did this.)_

When she gasped for air and fell back towards the pavement his hands caught her. Her body seemed to go limp, so he gently eased his arms behind her back and under her knees, getting blood all over him. He lifted her with ease and cradled her against his chest. As he started to move back to the parking lot, she came to, moaning in pain. He tried his best to sooth her, but slowly he saw a tear trickle down her beaten face and land on his shirt. "It's okay Rach, I got ya," he whispered.

He thought she was passing out again until her perfect lips whispered his name, "Noah," she cried out in weakness.

"It's alright," he told her, "We're gonna get you to the hospital."

For some reason this was all Rachel needed to her to come back to life. Her eyes shot open and her fist clenched his flannel button down, "NO!" she cried out in terror.

Her loud cry brought him to a sudden halt in the empty parking lot. He stared down at her bloody face, dumbfounded, "Wh- What? Rach, baby, I gotta take you to the hospital!" What was she thinking?

"Noah, no!" Her eyelids were fluttering at an unusually rapid pace in effort to wake herself enough so she could get her point across. "I- I..." She took in a ragged breath, "I know who did...this. Please, Noah! Just take me home!" She broke out into sob.

_She knows the guy?_ His mouth opened to ask but he stopped at the tears that were forming in her eyes. He couldn't bring himself to ask her to repeat the soon to be dead man's name. His heart was aching, he could see her wince at every breath, but she couldn't stop the tears. "Rach," he whispered, "I-"

"Noah, Please!" she whimpered. Noah couldn't take it anymore. He knew she needed to go to the hospital, but he also knew Rachel. She would walk her broken and unclothed body all the way home if that's what she had to do. Bruises, swelling, blood and all, she was able to put on her determined face, "I want to go home." she managed up as much strength as she could so it would sound forceful, but she knew it only sounded pitiful.

With a deep sigh Noah gave in and started back toward his truck. Rachel must have trusted him to do what she asked, because without another word she relaxed into his chest and just let the tears fall.

After a few moments of fidgeting around Rachel's legs, Puck managed to open the passenger door to his '64 ford truck. He moved as slow and gently as he could, but he notice how she wrenched up her face trying to hold back a scream as he sat her on the torn up seats. "Sorry," he whispered. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this helpless.

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**Author's Note: I completely support a woman reporting an assault and seeking medical attention. This is simply for the sake of my story.**


	2. I Need You Now

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the reviews and adds!**  
**Sorry it took a while, hope you enjoy!**

**

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**By the time Puck had made it to the driver's side, Rachel had begun to fall over. Puck slid in his old pickup quickly and caught Rachel's drifting body. He easily slid her into a laying position with her head resting on his thigh. Brushing the dark hair out of her beaten face, Puck could tell she had passed out again. Noah had to shake his head to clear the horrifying images of someone, anyone, hurting Rachel. He needed to focus. He needed to drive.

For the first time since he had stolen his mom's station wagon at 13, Puck had to think through how to start and drive a car. He let out a heavy breath and turned the key making his truck roar with life. Even on his worst days, that noise always made him smile. But not today. Sliding into first gear, they started to move forward and make their way to the streets of Lima. There wasn't a soul in sight. Hell, there wasn't even a stray animal lingering. It felt as if everyone somehow knew that something bad had happened and they were all hiding. Puck slid easily along the roads toward Rachel's home. He had tried driving fast, but this only made his truck lurch and cause Rachel to moan with pain, so he drove slow instead.

Luckily, Puck remembered the way to the Berry's gorgeous two story from the last time he'd been there. As he pulled in the empty drive way he glanced around to see if someone might be home. Puck gently slid his leg out from under Rachel, trying his best not to wake her, and got out of his truck. Walking to Rach's front door, Puck began to consider his "breaking and entering" options. Taking in the Berry's luxurious suburb home, he figured they'd hide a key in the usual naive location: under the welcome mat, and right he was. After unlocking the door handle and two secondary locks, he nudged the door open, leaving it so he wouldn't have to fiddle with the door handle while carrying Rachel.

When Puck returned to the car, Rachel was sitting up and looking dazed and confused. Giving her a weak grin and reached for her, "Hey Rach, we're here."

She blinked her bruised eyes in confusion, "Noah? Wh- what.." and like a tidal wave it all came rushing back, the slapping and punching, the way he had called her a slut as he torn into her. "Oh Noah!" Rachel began to sob and reached for Noah.

Without a moment's hesitation, he was there. He had seen her eyes shift from confusion, to recognition, to reliving the horror. "It's alright baby, I'm here." As she sobbed into his already bloody and tear soaked shirt, he figured he give the "let me take you to the hospital" suggestion another try, but with just as much determination as the first time, Rachel refused.

"Come on," he whispered as he scooped her up into his strong arms, or as he like to call them: The Guns. Making his way across the front lawn, he noticed every time she winced or bit her busted lip in pain. He continued to apologize and sooth her. Who knew 10 yards could feel like a mile.

Trying his best not to stumble through the cracked door, Puck took another glance around the dark home. _No one's home, I guess_, he thought to himself. Cradling her body close he climbed her spiral stairs with ease and headed to the second door on the right. Was it weird that he had the path to her bedroom memorized? He had only been there once. Oh well. He opened her door to a world of pink. He didn't think it was possible, but he was pretty sure it was pinker than last time. Puck laid Rachel down on her comfy queen sized bed and sat next to her. "Rach, I can't make you go to the hospital. But if you don't, we won't be able to prove-"

"Noah, please," struggling to take in another breath, Rachel pushed forward, "I know that I _should_ go to the hospital. I know that that's the _right _thing to do here, but I don't care! I will not go!" She took her time to enunciate each syllable making it clear to him that she wasn't going anywhere.

Puck watched intently as Rachel face of determination fell into one of whimpering and hopelessness. "Alright, it's okay baby" he brushed her hair beside her face and kissed her forehead, "I'll be right back." Puck waited for her to nod an okay to move from the bed. Turning around, he made his way into her large bathroom and started her a warm shower. While the shower was getting hot, Puck searched out a wash cloth and ran some water over it. Walking back with the damp material, Puck found her rolled up in the fetal position and rocking slightly. "Shhh... It's alright. I'm here," he kept repeating. Lifting her chin to make her look at him, he began to wipe her tears, blood, and the dirt from her face. She winced at first, but eventually she gave up and began to let tears fall in silence.

Glancing over his shoulder, Puck notice the steam forming on the bathroom mirror. He turned back and offered Rachel a sweet smile. "Come here," he whispered and lifted her into his arms and walked her to the steamy shower. Puck was a little troubled about what to do next he glanced around and decided to set her on the edge of her bathtub, which was across from her shower.

Kneeling down in front of her, Noah removed her shoes and bloody knee high socks. He kept looking in her eyes to make sure she wasn't uncomfortable. He paused for a minute not sure how to help her until she tried to undue the clasp of her bra and moaned with pain, her body was just too sore. "Here, let me." Puck stepped into the bathtub to be behind her and gently undid the clasp and helped slide the straps down her bruised arms. What he didn't expect was for Rachel to stand on her shaky legs and turn around. His jaw dropped in horror. Whoever had done this had taken the time to bite huge gashes into Rach's porcelain smooth breast.

Looking embarrassed, Rachel move to cover herself. "Aw Rach," taking her face in his hands, he rubbed her bruised cheeks lightly with his thumbs. he rested his forehead against hers and told her it was going to be okay. Puck reached down and helped her remove her shredded skirt and moved around her to open the shower for her.

As Rachel stepped into the hot, comforting shower she turned around to meet his gaze. Puck offered her a sweet smile and said, "I'll be in your room if you need me." he then turned to walk out of the bathroom. But at the last moment, Rachel reached out and grabbed his hand. Puck looked at their hands, then up to Rachel's cautious face. "What is it Rach?"

Rachel let out a sigh and let her eyes fall from his. "Noah, please. I- I can't be alone. Please don't leave me," She pleaded.

Puck looked at her intently and waited for her to make eye contact. Once she did, he understood her request. "Alright just give me a sec," he told her. When he tried to release her hand she wouldn't let go. Puck smiled at her and reassured her: "Babe, just let me get out of these clothes real quick."

It took her a sec, but Rachel relinquished her hold on Puck's callused hand. Quickly shedding his shirt, Puck debated on removing the rest of his clothing. He finally settled on removing his jeans but leaving on his boxers. After the shower he'd just go commando.

When he was finally down to his boxers, Puck stepped into the piping hot shower and closed the glass door behind him.

Rachel needed him. There wasn't a chance in the world that he wouldn't be there for her.

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**I thought about it, but I just couldn't make her going to the hospital work right now. Hope that's not a deal breaker!  
I'll continue soon 3 -Lace  
**


	3. Always and Nevers

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry it's been awhile. unfortunately, school gets in the way of writing sometimes :(  
Thank you all for the reviews and adds! They mean so much!**

**Enjoy!**

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"I'll be in your room if you need me." Noah told her. Suddenly she felt panic rise within her. A fear that made her stomach churn and her throat burn. On instinct, Rachel reached out and wrapped her smooth fingers around Noah's callused ones. Even though she felt him turned back to look at her, she couldn't take her eyes off of their intertwined fingers. _'Have his hands always swallowed mine like that?' _Rachel thought, _'they're too big, but somehow they fit perfect. When did Noah start to make me feel so safe?'_

"What is it Rach?" Noah asked, interrupting her thoughts. The small brunette looked up at the boy who had a way of always making her smile. After he had joined Glee club, Noah had always been there for her. When Finn went back to Quinn, Noah had just held her while she cried and watched her favorite musicals with her. Rachel had started to fall for Puck when he sang Sweet Caroline for her, but the moment when she fell head over hills in love with this hazel eyed punk was when he sang _Beth_ for his unborn daughter. Rachel would never forget Noah's shaking body in her arms the night after Shelby had taken Beth home. Rachel had gone to his house to check on him and he had only been able to maintain his tough facade until she hugged him. After that he had lost himself in her arms, telling her how badly it had hurt to watch someone take his daughter away.

Rachel and Puck, they had been there for each other. She knew that he would be there for her now. That was the only thing that gave her the strength to ask him to stay, "Noah, please. I- I can't be alone. Please don't leave me."

Waiting for a response, Rachel refused to look at him. She felt embarrassed, but she knew Noah, he wouldn't make a move until she gave him consent with her eyes. So begrudgingly, Rachel raised her big brown eyes to meet his. She felt a sensation of comfort wash over her as his thumb began to draw circles around her palm and he gave her his sweetest smile, "Alright just give me a sec."

Rachel panicked when Noah started to withdrawl his hand from hers. _'What is he doing? Don't leave me!' _She was screaming in her mind but for some reason her lips wouldn't move. Reacting out of instinct, Rachel squeezed Puck's hand and refused to let it go. The room felt fuzzy, what was talking? Noah?

"Babe," Noah's soft voice finally broke through her haze, "just let me get out of these clothes real quick." He was smiling at her. _'He isn't leaving,'_ Rachel waited for the fear to subside then nodded her head and released Noah's fingers.

Without thinking, Rachel spun around to give him privacy. She notice her bathroom lights dim. That right there is one of the reasons she loved Noah: he would do something she didn't even ask for just to make her comfortable. He respected her enough to dim the lights making it less awkward.

After waiting a few moments in silence, Rach heard the glass door click closed behind her and then felt two very large hands resting on her shoulders. Without her consent, her body jumped in terror. She knew in that second that she had more than likely scared Noah to death, and right she was. "Rach baby!" Noah exclaimed in a whisper (who knew that was even possible), "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

Tears rushed to her eyes at the pain in his voice. "No, Noah," Rachel finally turned to look at him, "I don't know why but, but my body just seems to react on its own." Rachel watched as he nodded his head slowly, then cautiously stretch his arms out toward her. Noah never moved his eyes from hers, waiting for her to react as his hands fell on her elbows and gently pulled her to him. Rachel stepped forward without a moment's hesitation and all but collapsed into his arms bawling.

Rachel listen to Noah's soft voice as he whispered words of comfort in her ear until she felt the sobbing subside. Slowly pulling away from him, she offered him the tiniest smile she could muster up and turned to the shower head. She relaxed as the water covered her body from the top of her head to bottom of her feet. Sighing, she stepped out of the water flow to reach for her Shampoo. Rachel's shower was enormous, simply put. When you opened the stained glass doors the was a 6x4 feet rectangle with stone walls and and floors. Against the far wall was a cut in area where she kept her showering items.

By the time Rachel had located her shampoo through her blurry vision she felt her legs start to give way. Turning around to shoot Noah a warning look, she felt her knees give out from under her and the shampoo bottle fly across the shower. Before her already beaten body was able to hit the floor, Noah's arms were around her. Rachel looked up into his face and his "it's okay" smile made her want to cry again. Noah gently lowered them to the floor of the shower and backed up into the corner with her facing away from him, his legs on either side of her. Not even having to think about it, Rachel fell back against his perfect chest and closed her eyes.

After the most traumatic day she would ever experience, Rachel ended up in the one place she felt safe: his arms.

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_'How does this sort of thing happen?'_ Noah had tried repeatedly to push those thoughts aside, but he just couldn't. He had caught Rachel just as her knees gave out and her body headed straight for the shower floor. Now he had her in his arms, resting against his bare chest. As Noah felt Rachel relax against him, he let his mind wander. Sure, he had been a complete jerk to Rachel when they first started high school by giving her a weekly slushie to the face, but that had all changed. When he had joined Glee club, she had just driven him crazy. But after a few weeks, Puck got to see who Rachel really was underneath that cheery, in-your-face, the whole world revolves around me disposition. She was kind and soft. She wore her heart on her sleeve, which is why he couldn't tell you how many times he had held her while she cried. She loved making him smile and would do just about anything to make him happy. The weird thing though, is that she didn't have to _do _anything. Rachel made him happy just by sitting next to him or talking his ears off about stupid chick stuff. He wasn't 100% positive, seeing as how he had never actually experienced this, but if you asked, he would tell you that he was in love with Rachel Berry. Sure they were only friends, best friends, but they were so much closer than that. They had kissed on occasion and they never watched a movie without it ending in a cuddling session. They had never actually told each other that they were in love, but they knew it. It was just one of those unspoken things.

Now, holding his best friend, the girl he was in love with, holding her beaten body made his heart break. He wanted nothing more than to kiss away every bruise and make her forget what happened, but Puck knew that the only thing he could do right now, was to take care of her and be there for her. So Noah reached around Rachel for the bottle of shampoo that had been sent tumbling a few moments earlier. He poured some in his hands then began to massage Rachel's hair. He paused when she let out a small groan, but after she told him it felt nice he continued to work it down her long brown locks.

Now, on any other day, having a completely naked Rachel in the shower with him would have him hard within moments. But not today. Its not that he wasn't attracted to Rachel, hell, he was in love with the girl, and no amount of bruises could change that, but somehow he was able to focus on what Rachel needed from him right now, and that definitely wasn't his member poking her in the back.

After thoroughly working the shampoo through Rach's hair, Noah gently spun her around to face him. It took all his effort not to chuckle at Rachel's confused look, but Noah simply rest his hands on either side of her face and gently leaned her head back into the streaming water. It took a few minutes to rinse out all the shampoo from her thick hair that Puck loved so much. He reached for the conditioner next and repeated the actions that he had performed with the shampoo, only now Rachel was facing him, looking him dead in the eye. Puck tried to swallow the lump in his throat that Rachel always seemed to give him. "Hey," he whispered.

Rachel smiled at him and offered him a simple, "Hi."

"Are you okay?" He whispered to her. _'Great! Nice question Puck! 'are you okay?' What the hell do you think!' _As Puck continued to mentally scold himself, Rachel dropped her eyes.

"No," she said simply after a few moments, "Not yet." Looking back into his eyes and offering him thankful smile.

Sighing, Noah pulled Rachel's naked body against his own and just held her. "I'm so sorry Rach," he kept repeating the words as Rachel began to tear up again.

After a few minutes, Rachel's breathing smoothed out and Puck relaxed his hold on her. Rachel leaned back to rinse the conditioner out of her own hair as Noah reached for one of her wash cloths that she kept in the shower and ran it under the now lukewarm water. Taking it, Puck ran it over her body from head to toe, washing away all the blood and dirt. Rachel gasped and groaned when he ran the cloth over her thighs. This was the first time Noah noticed the hand shaped bruises on the inside of her thighs. Rage ran through his body like fire and just before he lost it he heard her voice, "Noah?" She whispered, "Noah?"

It took all his effort to jerk his head up to look at her and what he saw surprised him: sympathy. Why the hell did she feel sorry for him? He opened his mouth but no words would come out. He tried again and again, but nothing happened. He felt himself break down and lose it. Noah nuzzled his face into the crook of Rachel's neck trying to catch his breath. '_Get it together Puckerman,_' He told himself, '_Your girl needs you right now.' _Taking one last ragged breath, Noah pulled back to look at _his girl_ (he could definitely get used to that term.) He caressed her face then gently gave her a peck on the forehead before continuing his job of removing the blood and dirt.

About three minutes later, Puck was turning off the water and leaving a naked Rachel on the shower floor to find a couple of towels. Finding two light pink towels in her cabinet, Noah grabbed them with a chuckle and returned to Rachel. She was attempting to stand, but her legs couldn't hold her. "Hey," he scolded with a whisper, "Hold on baby, I got ya." She offered him a smile as he shook open the towel and wrapped it around her shoulders. Scooping her up like a baby, Noah took her back to her bedroom and gently place his girl underneath the covers. After he had succeeded in tucking her in, Puck wrapped the other pink towel around his waist, covering his soaked boxers. He secured his towel and then he laid down next to Rach.

With no amount of small effort, Rachel turned over on her back and looked at Puck. He smiled when she reached for his hand and just held it. "Thank you," he heard her whisper as she closed her eyes.

Puck waited a few moments, unsure as to how he should respond, but then he decided to respond the best way he knew how. He threw his arm over Rachel's body and snuggled close to her, and before kissing her temple he promised her: "I'll never leave you Rach. Never." Noah felt her sigh and her body relax.

Puck had a plan. It probably wasn't a great one, but it was all he had. He just needed to wait for Rach to fall asleep so he could call in the troops: their family (a.k.a. The Glee Club).

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**So? Thoughts?  
The paragraph on _little puck_ (if you know what I mean), that part felt awkwardly placed, and written, but I couldn't leave it out. It just felt like an obvious issue. So if you hated that part, I understand.  
Hope you enjoyed the rest.  
-Lace**


	4. Shattered

**Hey Guys!  
I know it's been a long time, and I'm super sorry for that.  
Hopefully you won't have to wait so long ever again!**

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It was 11 at night, but Quinn just had to get out of that house! Her dad and his new girlfriend came over, sending her mom into a complete frenzy. She had listened to the yelling for an hour before she decided to sneak out and go for a walk.

Quinn felt like she could fall apart. The last year or so had been a roller coaster ride to say the least. With glee, cheerios, the Finn and Rachel Drama, the whole being pregnant, the baby-daddy issue, and to top it all of her parents had gone through a nasty divorce. Luckily though, things had been settling down lately. She no longer had to struggle between glee and the cheerios, she was completely dedicated to glee and loved it. Finn had ended things between them the moment he found out he wasn't the father to her unborn child. Then she and Puck went their separate ways after they gave Beth up for adoption. Quinn had expected that. Puck cared about her, but the only reason they were together was because she was pregnant. But now Quinn had Sam. Gorgeous and sweet-hearted Sam. He had made the whole last year seem somewhat worth it, just so long as they had found each other in the end. So as she walked down streets of Lima, she reached into the pocket of her jeans with every intention of calling Sam so she could vent about her night. But as soon as she had the phone in her petite hands it vibrated with an incoming call.

Quinn stared with confusion as the name "Puck" flashed across the screen of her phone. 'Why in the world is he calling me this late?' She wondered. She had had a bad night and decided to call him back in the morning. Declining Puck's call, she began to dial Sam's cell when a text interrupted her: "From: Puck - 911!" Quinn's mind had to halt and focus for a moment. After it clicked that there was obviously a problem, Quinn quickly dialed Puck's number and waited nervously for her now close friend to answer.

"Quinn," the voice came through the speaker. It was hushed but filled with fear.

"Puck? What's wrong? Are you alright?" Quinn knew she was throwing too many questions at him, but the boy had her worried sick and the sound of his shaky voice made it even worse.

"Quinn, Rachel's hurt," He spoke quickly, "Someone attacked her and she refused to go to the hospital. I need you to call everybody and get them over to Rachel's house now! Please Quinn, I-I..."

"Shh," Quinn had to stop him. She would loose any grip she had if she heard Puck cry. "I'll be right there."

Quinn hung up her phone and immediately started dialing Sam (again). He finally answered about the time she had made it back to her little Toyota that was sitting in her driveway. "Hey there beautiful," He said.

"Sam," she loved him but there was no time for sweet talk. She filled him in as she jumped into her car and started toward Rachel's house, "Someone attacked Rachel. Puck is with her at her house. I need you to call Mercedes," Mercedes could spread the news quicker than anyone, "and let the group know. Get everybody to Rachel's now!" Quinn knew she was speaking in short spurts, but that was all she could manage when she was on the the verge of tears. After listening to Sam freak out for 5 seconds, she repeated the word "now", this time a little harsher and hung up the phone. She would apologize for that later, but Rachel and Puck need her and quick. When Quinn had started glee, it was simply to spy on Rachel and keep her away from Finn. But after all Quinn's baby drama, Rachel had stuck by her. It took awhile, but soon, Quinn and Rach became great friends.

After she hung up on Sam the tears started to instantly fall and she increased her Toyota's speed down the thin roads of Lima.

* * *

_"No... Please stop...Ple-" She felt him punch her, hard. She fell back against the rough bricks of Lima's high school building. He pulled her back to him using the front of her white sweater. She moaned when he pulled her tight to him. He grinned at her evilly as she shivered under his touch._

_"Ah, Rach," he whispered as he breathed in her scent, "you should know better to fight me." With that he ripped her sweater right off._

_Rachel cried out as the cold air rushed across her now bare skin and began to push against Jesse with all her might. "Stop it! Let me go," She begged again. He let out a frightening laugh at Rachel's misery before continuing his assault. He tilted his head down to her heaving chest and laid a gentle kiss to each of her breast before grinning at her again. Rachel took a deep breath an tried to reason with him, "Jesse, please... I know you don-"_

_"You know NOTHING," He screamed in her face. He seemed to enjoy the way she shook in terror and only wanted to increase her fear. He pulled away only to pull down the cups of her bra and before Rachel could object he dug his teeth deep into her right breast. Rachel shrieked in pain as blood began to cover the right side of her chest. Jesse pulled back his hand to smack her across the face before leaning down to give her left breast the same mark that he gave her right. Again, the pain overtook Rachel and she began to scream out, "Stop! Oh please! No!"_

"No.. No! Sto- Stop! Please!" Rachel's body began to jerk against Puck's chest and her cries grew louder with each second.

"Rachel," Puck sat up and grabbed the terrified girl's shoulders. "Rachel, wake up! It's just a dream honey." As hard as he tried, Puck couldn't pull Rachel from her nightmare. He spun around as he heard Rachel's door opened. Quinn stood in the doorway, her face was streaked with black mascara and tears. Puck shot her a helpless look, "She's having a nightmare, Q. She won't wake up." He felt his eyes sting with tears as he looked back at Rachel's bruised face as she continued to cry out.

Quinn rushed to the other side of Rachel and placed both her hands on either of side of Rachel's face. She took a moment to swallow her tears, then pulled Rachel's face close to hers. "Rachel," she whispered, "Sweetie, it's Quinn. Rae, you need to wake up now. It's only a nightmare, Rae. Please wake up now. You're about to give Puck a heart attack..." Quinn continued to sooth Rachel with her voice until her body began to still and her crying stopped. Quinn nodded to Puck, queuing him to take over.

A shaken Puck leaned over Rachel and laid a kiss on her forehead, and whispered to her, "Baby, you need wake up for me... Please Rach." Puck only had to wait for a moment before Rachel's swollen eyes started to flutter open. 'Oh thank God!' Puck thought to himself.  
"N-Noah..." Rachel began to choke as she spoke, "What happened?"

"You were having a nightmare Rae."

This was the first time Rachel had notice Quinn's presence and it completely broke her down. "Oh Quinn! I-I... it was horrible!" Rachel wrapped her arms around Quinn and began to sob.

Quinn returned Rachel's embrace and gently shushed her, "It's going to be alright, Rae. I'm right here." The blond girl felt Rachel shiver and suddenly noticed that she was naked beneath the blankets. Thinking through her options, Quinn looked up at Puck, "Could you give us a moment, Puck? Bring her a glass of water and the first aid kit." Quinn watched as the two exchanged panicky looks at the thought of being separated. "Rae," Quinn took back Rachel's attention, "I need Puck to go get some stuff so I can help fix you up, and while he's gone I'll help you into a nightgown."

Rachel glanced down at her body, which was under the covers, yet she still had a sudden feeling of self consciousness and began to grip at the blanket.

"Shh, it's alright babe," She turned back to Noah at the sound of his voice, "I'll be right back." He caressed her cheek with his thumb before standing up and slowly walking from the room. He felt his heart break as he looked back at her before closing her door. He had no clue how she managed it but she put on a small, yet brave smile. But Puck could see right through that facade, he knew that she felt like she was drowning from all the emotions running through her soul. The only thing that kept him from barging back in and scooping her up into his arms was the look in Quinn's eyes. Something about those dark hazel eyes told him not to worry, that she would take care of his girl. So he continued his mission: find the first aid kit.

* * *

After Puck exited Rae's room, Quinn waited with patience for her friend to look back at her, since her eyes were currently locked on the now closed door. Suddenly, Rachel's head jerked back and her eye's seemed to apologize, as if she might have offended Quinn by staring after Puck. The blond choked back a giggle, 'anyone can see that you two are crazy about each other'. Even though Quinn's thoughts were dead on, she knew that that topic was off limits for the time being. Instead, Q offered a sweet smile and asked if Rachel had a preferred night gown. After Rachel gave Quinn directions to find this nightgown, she spent a good thirty seconds digging through Rae's perfectly organized drawers, being careful not to unfold, wrinkle or disrupt this organizational system. Quinn smiled as she pulled out the night gown, it was a light yellow, silky baby-doll gown. It had a low v-neck and a lavender ribbon that would fall just below Rachel's breast. "This it?" She asked.

Rachel nodded. "It's the most comfortable night gown I own," she offered with a shrug.

"Not to mention, it's gorgeous!" Quinn had an inward sigh of relief as the small smile that appeared on Rachel's face. She walked back to the bed and laid the night gown down. She and Rachel were close, close enough that embarrassment was nonexistent in their relationship, but under the circumstance, Quinn addressed the issue before moving forward, "Rae, I'm gonna help you sit up so we can put the gown on." She waited for Rachel to nod before she removed the blanket.

Quinn took a moment to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. Rachel's body was beyond recognition. Blood, scratches, bruises, and even bite marks made Quinn stomach feel instantly queasy. Within 5 seconds, a endless number of emotions filled her, but Quinn was able to shove them aside when she saw a now very self consciousness Rachel move to cover herself. "It's alright Rae," Quinn whispered as she moved to help lift Rachel into a sitting position. Once Rae was sitting, Quinn quickly grabbed the beautiful garment and started to work it over Rachel's head and arms. This was no easy task due to the fact that Rae could barely hold her self up and her torn up arms were difficult for her to lift on her own. But after a couple minutes, Quinn had the brunette dressed. She placed her arms around Rachel and lifted her off the bed. With Quinn supporting most of her weight, Rachel was able to make it to the rocking chair only a few feet from her bed.

Once Rae was safe in her rocking chair, Quinn moved back to the bed. She made Rae's bed in record time and fluffed her pillow for her. After checking her work for a moment, she moved back to Rachel and helped the weak girl back to her bed. She took her time to make sure Rachel was comfortable before moving to fetch the small quilt that was folded on Rachel's window seat. Gently placing the quilt over Rachel's legs, Quinn discreetly took in Rachel's appearance. The night gown was so flattering, that it took away some of the queasiness that Quinn had felt. The only thing that concerned Q was the neck line. The gown dove down between Rae's breast which made the bite marks quite visible. But as Quinn watched Rachel relax into the pillows and let out a sigh when she took in the comfort of her bed, she let the concern go. The only thing that mattered at the moment was that Rachel was comfortable, well as comfortable as possible at a time like this.

Quinn settled herself on the bed next to Rachel and began slowly, "Rae, I need to ask you some questions, okay?" Though the fear in her eyes was obvious, Rachel nodded her head. "Okay. Well first off, where are your dads?"

Rachel thought for a second before answering, "They went on a business trip, they'll be gone for a few weeks."

"Would you like us to call them?"

Rachel didn't have to think this time, "No. Please, Q. I love my dad's but all I really want right now is my glee family. I know that may sound weird, but that's what I need now."

Quinn nodded with understanding, "It's not weird sweetie. We're not going anywhere." Quinn stopped for a moment before continuing, "Now Rachel, I need you to tell me what happened." Quinn didn't give Rachel the opportunity to interject, "I know you don't want to talk about, and if you want to stop at any time, we can. But you need to try and tell me what you can."

Rachel took a deep breath, which only made her wince in pain, and thought over Quinn's words. "I can stop if I need to?" she asked.

Quinn smiled and nodded, "Absolutely. I'm only asking you to try. If you need to stop we'll just try again later."

Rachel nodded her head and let out a sigh, "I'll try."

Quinn scooted closer to Rachel and reached for her hand, "I'm right here Rae." After a few moments, her bloody and bruised friend began the story that would shatter Q's heart.

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**Challenge: Leave a review with your favorite line from the story so far!**  
**Oh! and P.S. This story isn't about lawful justice, it's more personal.  
Maybe that's right, maybe that's wrong, but for the sake of this story, that's where I'm headed.**


	5. Comfort

**WARNING: This chapter contains a retelling of a rape scene. I tried to be delicate, but also make it emotional.**

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**So obviously I didn't make it very clear that I LOVE getting ya'll's (how's that for grammar) reviews! Please leave some! They are SO encouraging!**

In fact, this chapter it dedicated to beaner008, who left the most touch and inspiring review. Thank you so much!

**Enjoy :]**

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Puck slammed the eighth, and final, kitchen cabinet with frustration. He then winced at the thought that he may have scared Rachel or Quinn, but after a few moments passed, he had yet to hear any movement from upstairs, so he continued his search for the well hidden first aid kit.

When he heard the front door creak open Puck jerked his head to look through the archway that connected the kitchen and entry room. He sighed with relief when he saw Sam Evans closing the front door. "Sam," Puck greeted his friend with a voice that was rougher than normal.

Sam's shoulders sunk at the sight of Puck's worn out look and the overwhelming amount of stress that seemed to radiate from him. Due to the close relationship that Puck and Rachel had, and also the friendship that Quinn shared with Rachel, Sam, being the awesome boyfriend he was (Quinn's words), had spent a lot of time with Puck and Rachel since he had moved to Lima. Over time Puck and Sam had pretty much became best friends. After the whole "baby drama", that he was thankful to have missed, Puckerman and Finn were never as close, so the new kid and the bad boy bonded over football and their girls. Then there was Rachel, or Rae as Quinn so lovingly referred to the brunette. Rae had become a little sister to Sam. Even though Rachel was four months older, Sam had grown very protective of her. Because of this, and the fact that douche bags found it entertaining to slushy his baby sister, he had gotten himself two black eyes, numerous detentions, and one temporary suspension, but like he always said: "should of seen the other guy." So the look on Puck's face at the moment only confirmed his worse fears: that this wasn't something small. It was something that would more than likely shake up their worlds forever.

The whole drive to Rachel's, Sam had ran every possible scenario through his head. Quinn hadn't been very specific. "Rachel's been attacked" didn't exactly give Sam much to work with, but it sounded serious enough that the speed limits didn't matter. But now, looking at Puck, he knew it wasn't just another egging, and that had been bad enough.

"Dude...what happened?" Sam asked, trying to keep his shaking voice in check.

Puck shrugged helplessly and tried to explain, "Sam...it's bad Sammy," Puck choked on the lump that was currently growing in his throat. Before he completely broke down, Sam walked over and hugged him. Totally not bad-A, but Puck needed to be reminded that there were other guys who also cared about Rachel and would be here for her, and him, right now.

After the brief hug, Sam slapped Puck on the shoulder. "What can I do?" He asked.

Puck shoved his hands into his pockets and scrunched up his eyebrows in thought. Finally, he looked at Sam. "Dude, if you can help me find this stupid first aid kit that would be awesome."

Sam's jaw clenched, '_why do we need the first aid kit_?' Though it was a valid question, Sam knew better than to ask Puck right now. The man looked ready to explode at any moment, so Sam simply nodded his head in silence and the boys began their search.

* * *

Rachel Berry was staring at the second hand on her wall clock. It had only been 45 seconds since Quinn had asked Rachel to tell her the story of what had happened that day. Rachel couldn't be more thankful for Quinn's patience. The blond hadn't made a peep in this last minute, she just held Rachel's hand and waited.

Rachel finally took a deep breath and started from the beginning, "Do you remember when Vocal Adrenaline and Jesse egged me in the school parking lot?"

Quinn look confused, but simply nodded yes, "Of course I do, Rae."

"Right before Jesse cracked the last egg on my face," Rachel shuddered at the memory, "He said 'You belong to me Rachel, and you always will.' He leaned in and whispered 'Maybe this will help you remember.' Then he busted the egg." Quinn's eyes filled with sadness at the memory of Jesse breaking Rae's heart.

"What no one knew was that Noah was there. He saw the very end of the egging and by the time he got to me, Vocal Adrenaline was already driving away." Rachel's lips switched into a small grin as she remembered Noah's reaction, "Noah started screaming every curse word that came to his mind, that is until he noticed that I was crying. He walked right to me and hugged me, eggs and all."

Rachel stopped to take a breather, trying to think everything through, "Noah took me back to the boys locker room, which was luckily empty. He helped clean me off and I changed into some of him sweats and a T-shirt. Then he told me that he was going to take me home so we walked to back to his truck."

Quinn couldn't help but wonder where this story was going, but interrupting was not on her to-do list.

"Noah was going to open my door, but before he did, he spun me around to look at him,"  
again Rachel smiled at the thought of Noah. "He held me close and said 'I'm gonna take care of you Rach, I promise.' I have no clue where my nerve came from, but I asked him flirtatiously how he planned on doing that. Next thing I knew he was kissing me and I was kissing him back. We stayed like that for a while before we finally separated and he took me home."

Quinn waited for a minute, because as Rachel finished the story of her and Noah's kiss her whole body stiffened. Her breaths became shorter and tears began to form. "It's alright, Rae. I'm here sweetie," Quinn reminded her.

Rachel nodded her head and started part two, "I found out earlier today that Noah and I weren't alone in the locker rooms, or when he kissed me in the parking lot." Rachel began to shiver, "When I got to school this morning there was a note in my locker and it said, 'I saw you with him. You will regret that kiss.' Quinn, I swear to you, I had no clue what that note was about or who it was from. That kiss at the truck happened two months ago, and it's not as if Noah and I made anything official."

Quinn moved closer and brushed the stray brunette hairs behind Rachel's ears, "It's alright, Rae."

Rachel was on the verge of sobbing and she knew that she had to reign herself in, or she would never finish this horrible story. Taking in deep breaths, she was able to slow the tears to the point that she could speak again. "So, I forgot about it," Rachel started again with a shrug, "I went to my classes and didn't think about the note again. Then, as usual, I was the last one to leave school. I had finished putting my stuff in the back seat of my car when I... I felt a hand." The story was becoming more and more difficult, but Quinn had a way of making Rachel feel safe, so she continued. "A hand was over my mouth and I, uh... I tried so hard to scream, but I couldn't. Then he dragged me to the side of the school in between the dumpsters... He spun me around to look at him." Rachel knew she was leaving Quinn on a cliff hanger, but she felt like she would choke if she said his name, but she had to try. "It was Jesse, Quinn," Rachel saw Quinn's eyes burn with fury and her body tighten as if to hold that fury in. Rachel couldn't help herself, "Are you alright, Q?"

Quinn was taken back by this. '_Just like Rae to be worried about **me** at a time like this_,' she thought. So Quinn forced her body to relax so anger wouldn't be as apparent to Rachel. "I'm fine Rae, go on," Quinn encouraged her.

Rachel took a moment to wipe away some of the tears that had fallen before beginning again, "I guess I was in shock because I didn't make a peep when he let go of my mouth. But then I noticed how angry he was and it terrified me. I-I didn't know what to do, so I just tried to walk away. He grabbed a handful of my hair," Rachel reached up to touch her hair, remembering how that had been the least of the pain she had endured today, "and threw me against the wall of the school. He spent the next couple of minutes explaining that he had been in the locker room that day when Noah had helped me after the egging, and that he watched us kiss. I was so confused, Quinn, but then the note, it-it all made since. Jesse had left the note. When I asked him about the note he slapped me across the face and told me I was stupid not to know it was from him in the first place and asked if he hadn't made it clear enough that I belong to him. He got this- this horrible, evil look in his eye and said 'well then, I'll have to make it clear.'."

Rachel's body shook as she spoke, but once she started, it was like the whole story just spilled out of her. Her hands moved from place to place, each time referring to a place that Jesse had hit, kicked, slapped, punch, or any other way he found to inflict pain upon her. Quinn started to feel sick, but Rachel didn't notice, she was too busy getting it all out. She was almost screaming about the abuse when she suddenly stopped.

Quinn waited in utter confusion at the sudden silence until Rachel looked her straight in the eye and said in a quiet, calm voice, "I thought it was over. I mean, there was blood everywhere Quinn! I...I was drenched in my own blood. I thought that he was finished. But, beating me, the beating itself wasn't enough for him." Quinn realized that she was about to have to stomach a horrible retelling and did her best to brace herself, but there wasn't anything that could prepare her for the rest of Rachel's story.

Rachel looked at the hands which were now tucked into her lap and helplessly continued, "He told me that I should have known better than to fight him and he, um, he tore off my sweater. I started to beg harder, and all of the sudden he acted gentle. So I thought that maybe I could reason with him, tried telling him that I knew he didn't want to hurt me, but that only made him angrier. He yanked down my bra and in a split second he bit me." Rachel lifted her hand to the deep gashes on her breast, "and then bit me again."

Rachel's whole body shook as she tried to finish the retelling of this horrible memory as quickly as possible, "After that it was like he just lost all control, not that he had much to begin with. He pulled up my skirt and tore... he tore off my panties. Quinn I tried so hard to fight him off. I held my legs together - he bruised me pulling them apart. I pushed him away - he pinned my hands." The next words out of Rachel's mouth broke both of the girl's hearts, "He- he raped me, Quinn..." After that sentence there was no more holding back, Rachel bawled her eyes out and clung to Quinn praying that the pain would stop.

Quinn tried her best to stay strong, but she just couldn't stop the tears. She held Rae's trembling body and rocked her in her arms. Quinn knew for a fact that Rachel was saving sex for marriage and knowing that just broke her heart all the more.

Minutes that felt more like hours past by until Rachel went limp with exhaustion. She had literally cried herself out and no more tears would come. Feeling safe in Quinn's thin, but muscular arms, Rachel finally allowed her body to relax against her best friend.

Once enough strength had returned, Rachel separated her self to look at Quinn's red rimmed eyes. "Q," Rachel shook her head as if confused, "I-I don't know what to say but thank you. Thank you for being here. And this may sound insane, but actually telling you what happened, it makes me feel... relief. Is that the right word? I feel like you lifted some of the pain.

"Don't get me wrong, I still feel..." Rachel struggled to find the right description, so she went with a broad term: pain, "a severe amount of pain, but you being here and listening, it's comforting."

Somehow, after all she had been through, Rachel manage a smile. A weak one, but still, it was a smile.

Feeling her share of relief as well, Quinn reached out and hugged Rachel to her again. Before pulling away she whispered in Rachel's ear, "I love you, Rae." It was simple, but true, and that was exactly what Rachel needed to hear.

* * *

After fifteen more minutes, the boys found the Berry's first aid kit in one of their numerous guest bathrooms. Before dashing upstairs, Puck remembered that Quinn had told him to get water as well. So after a quick stop in the kitchen the boys were at Rachel's bedroom door and unsure of what to do next. Puck listened for a moment, but heard nothing, so he gently knocked on the door. "Hey," he called to the girls on the other side of the door. "Sam's with me," he announced in case Rachel wasn't quite ready for company.

"Oh!" The boys heard Quinn breathe quietly and within two seconds the door was swung open and Quinn was inviting them in.

As Puck looked in, he noticed that Rachel's bed had been remade and she was sitting up straight in a gorgeous yellow night gown. Her eyes, as well as Quinn's, were pink, swollen, and shiny; so there had been a good deal of tears shed during the twenty minutes or so that he had been downstairs. But most importantly: Rachel was smiling at him! Sure, it wasn't her typical 'ready to take on the world' smile, but it was a definite improvement. Without a second thought, Puck handed off the first aid kit he'd been carrying to Quinn and walked straight to Rachel's side.

Quinn tried to stifle the laugh that was emerging from within her as Puck mindlessly hand her the first aid kit and rushed over to Rae. '_Crazy couple of kids_' she thought to herself. Quinn turned back to offer Sam a small smile. Although he had noticed her teary eyes, he had decided it could wait. Instead, he set down the glass of water and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and squeezed her tight.

After he loosened his grip, Sam stepped around Quinn and walked over to Rachel's bed. "Hey sis," he greeted her with the term of endearment that they have both come to love. Sam had to fight tooth and nail not to gape at the sight of Rachel's beaten body. He felt his blood begin to boil below his skin and had to dig his fingernails into the palms of his hands to keep himself from exploding with rage.

Luckily, her voice brought him back: "Hey Sammy." He sighed as he noticed Rachel's smile and walked to the other side of her bed, since Puckerman was hogging this side, and bent down to place a kiss on Rachel's temple.

"Ya feelin' alright?" He asked with concern.

"I'm okay," she shrugged. Then she reached for his hand and gave him that 'I mean it look' so he would understand how much she meant it when she said: "Thank you for coming. I needed you."

Before Sam good have a melt down, Quinn interrupted there heart-to-heart. "Sam," she called to him, "Can you help me get some things real quick?"

Sam gave Rachel a questioning look, but after his baby sis nodded he moved to follow his girlfriend down the hall.

Puck watched as Rachel's eyes followed Sam on his way out then shifted to look at him. "Hi there," he whispered to her. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, actually," and like always with Rachel, she explained herself, "Maybe it's weird, but Quinn made me tell her everything and for some reason, sharing what happened made it feel like it was actually over. I don't know why, but it helped make me feel safe." Rachel bit her bottom lip and shrugged. She wanted so badly for Noah to understand, but she didn't know how else to explain it.

To her relief, Noah nodded and reassured her, "You are safe, Rach." Puck looked down at Rachel's bedspread, not sure whether or not to ask his next question, but he could feel Rachel staring down at him so he decided to give it a go, "Could you tell me what happened, babe?"

Rachel's eyes fell and she began to fiddle with her hands. "Noah," she began, "It was very, very hard to talk about with Quinn, and though it helped, it was emotionally exhausting. If you don't mind, I need a break from thinking about it for a while. Is that okay?"

Puck's heart broke a little when he saw the desperation in Rachel's eyes, so he didn't keep her waiting, "Of course, baby." Noah scooted closer to Rachel and wrapped her up in his arms. Once she was comfortable against his chest, Puck did the best thing he could have done at that moment.

It brought fresh tears to her eyes as Rachel heard Noah begin to hum "Sweet Caroline" in her ear. How did he know exactly what to do at exactly the right time? Without thinking, and without needing to, Rachel stretched up and placed a kiss on Noah's jaw line and snuggled into the crook of his neck. She could feel his muscles change position as he smiled at her action. She smiled too when she felt Noah's lips embrace her shoulder with a gentle kiss and before she knew it he was back to humming in her ear. '_Yep_,' she thought, '_I am most definitely in love with you Noah_.'

If only Rachel could read Noah's thoughts she would hear him thinking the same thing about her.

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**Author's Note: So this is the most dialogue that I have written in a long time, so I'm sure I had my fair share of errors. I'm sorry :]**

**Also, I am thinking about putting a song in one of the upcoming chapters and I need some input. Would you rather have a song from the whole glee club, Puck, or Rachel? Let me know!  
**

**-Lace**


	6. Family none the less

**Surprise! Y'all thought I forgot about you, didn't ya! Well, I have decided to blame my disappearance on writer's block :)  
There's not a ton to this chapter. It's more of a transition chapter.  
I'm gonna go ahead and start the next chapter so I can get it up soon. **

**Please review! I can't tell you how much I love your reviews! They are the peanut butter to my jelly ;)**

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Quinn waited until Sam had closed Rachel's door before falling into his arms and covering his t-shirt in her tears. Sam was at a loss for words so he simply wrapped his arms around Quinn and held her close. He tried his best to calm her down, but he quickly realized that that wasn't something he was going to be able to do this time. So he waited for what felt like forever. Sam's curiosity/worry was about drive him insane when Quinn finally caught her breath and took a step back from Sam's embrace.

Sam looked at Quinn intently, waiting for her to tell him what was going on, because at the moment, his imagination was putting him on the verge of a complete breakdown. When Quinn still refused to speak he decided he could be patient no longer, "Quinn, wh-"

Before he could finish his question, Quinn told him the horrible truth: "He raped her, Sammy. Jesse. He raped Rae."

Cold. That was all Sam could feel. Except for the fire in his stomach that was doomed to erupt at any minute, of course. "_Raped_." The word kept repeating in his mind like an evil chant until he thought he would go insane. Forgetting Quinn completely, he took off. Running through the hall, down the stairs, anywhere to escape this feeling.

Quinn was frozen outside Rachel's door, stunned at her boyfriend's disappearance. "Sam!" She finally called after him. When he didn't stop or turn around she decided to run after him. In the downstairs of the Berry's huge home she spun in circles trying to figure out where he'd go. All of this made her feel rather dumb when she finally noticed the front door, which was wide open and only five feet from her. Walking outside, Quinn could see that Sam had made his path. He did this when he was upset. He'd make some strange pathway and walk it over and over again. This time the pattern was some sort of figure-8 with a zig-zag in the Berry's front lawn.

Sighing with relief that he hadn't taken off to do something stupid, Quinn relaxed a little. "Sam?" Quinn called to him, but failed to actually capture the blond headed boy's attention. "Sam?" she tried again. This went on for a while. Each time she called out, her voice became slightly more frustrated until she stormed onto the green grass to block his path.

Sam almost tripped over Quinn when he got to her. He was so wrapped up in his own emotions that he couldn't really register Quinn's presence. But now, face to face with what seemed to be an extreme amount of anger, there was no denying her presence.

Quinn's fury died the instant she saw the tears falling from Sam's eyes. He had come to a full stop and simply stared at Quinn. She didn't believe it was a possibility for her heart to break anymore tonight, but watching Sam cry over his "little sister" completely destroyed her. She tried to form words but all she could say was "I'm so sorry Sammy."

Quinn and Sam stood there in Rachel's front lawn holding on to one another as if their lives depended on it until a silver sedan pulled into the now crowded driveway. Santana hopped out of the driver's seat and ran to the couple begging for an explanation. While Quinn and Santana attempted to calm each other down, Sam went to help Brittany get her boyfriend of 4 months, Artie, out of the back seat. Within a few minutes, Mike and Tina pulled up with Mercedes and Finn in the backseat.

* * *

Looking out of one of the windows from Rachel's bedroom, Puck couldn't help but sigh with relief. _The gangs all here_, he thought to himself. He watched as they all began to move inside and with a quick glance to make sure Rach was still asleep, he walked to the top of the stairs to call for Quinn and Sam. From the earlier experience of Rachel waking up screaming, he figured she wasn't going to be getting that much sleep. That being said, he didn't want everyone running in there disrupting the few minutes she was getting now.

Sam and Quinn excused them self and hurried up the stairs. The three teenagers looked exhausted, but they all knew that this was only the beginning to the first of many long nights to come. Puck was the first to speak, "We need to have a meeting in the living room, but I don't wanna leave Rach alone. Quinn, Rachel told you what happened?" Quinn grimaced at the thought of Rachel's story and nodded her head. "Then you need to be down there." Puck scratched his head in thought.

Sam interjected, "I'll stay with Rae. Quinn gave me a heads up and y'all can fill me in on everything afterwards."

Puck considered Sam's suggestion for a moment. He trusted Sam completely, but the thought of leaving Rachel scared him so much. Even so, he knew it was going to be necessary for the moment and nodded in agreement. He filled Sam in on the previous experience of Rachel waking up screaming and told him to let her sleep as long as he could but to wake her if it looked like she was reliving the attack. The three of them all check in on Rachel once more before Quinn and Puckerman made their way down stairs.

Sam took a seat next to Rachel's bed and looked over his injured friend, his baby sister. Relaxing his body, he laid his head in his hands and just cried. This was going to kill him, he was sure of it. Sitting in the quiet, he took that time to pray and try to cry away the pain. When Rachel woke up, he would need to be strong for her, so his goal was to get as much of the pain out while the girl he cared for so much got a few minutes of shut-eye.

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When Puck reached the first floor, the whole glee group took in his appearance. He had found the time to put on his jeans and his white undershirt, but as they all stared at him, he glanced down to make sure his fly wasn't open or something. His head fell in pain when he realized his once starched white wife-beater was covered in Rachel's blood. Brittany was the first to move in his direction and the whole group followed. As the Glee club embraced him, he felt the tears begin to moisten his eyes and fall down his cheeks. Pulling away, Puck suggested the group move into the Berry's large living room with a shaky voice, trying to hold back the tears.

Sitting on the smaller couch with Quinn by his side, Puck began to explain the situation to the anxious group, "So first off, Rachel's pretty bad off. I found her at the school around 9. I tried to take her to the hospital, but she refused, she said all she wanted was to go home so that's what we did. I did my best to clean her up, the blo-" Noah was now choking on his tears. Quinn reached out to squeeze his hand and give him a reassuring look. "She was, uh, well, she was pretty much covered in blood and dirt." The whole Glee group winced at his words. "When I was trying to help her clean off I got to see exactly how bad it was. The bruises, the- it, it's horrible you guys." Puck broke down sobbing. Brittany, being her genuinely kind self came to hug him and tell him it was okay. Brittany's innocence touched his heart and actually helped to slow the tears. He gave Quinn a pleading look, trying to tell her to finish the story.

Quinn looked into the eyes of her friends. They all had a mixture of emotion: fear, anger, sadness and worry, but most all, pain. She knew she had to tell them, "The truth of it is that Rachel was raped tonight." No matter how gently she said it, the ramifications of her words were unpreventable. In an instant, every girl was all but bawling. Every boy had their hands in tight fists, and Quinn could see they were all fighting the urge to punch a wall. Then there was Puck. Puck had pretty much gathered that Rachel had been raped, but hearing it, actually registering the thought bout killed him. He shot out of the chair and began to pace. Gripping the back of his neck in frustration, he simply let the tears fall. As the silence began to overwhelm him, he all but snapped at Quinn, "Talk Quinn!"

All the Glee girls jumped slightly at the harshness of Puck's words. Quinn was taken aback, but took it in stride. She could see how hard this was on Puck and decided to let that one slide. "I think talking about the rest of the story should be Rachel's decision. But what y'all need to know is that he really did a number on her. She's extremely bruised up and seriously injured. You all need to be careful about your reaction cause she's pretty self-conscious, understandably." Quinn looked back to Puck who was now resting against the wall, staring at the ceiling. She called out to him and asked him to finish up.

Puck returned to his seat beside Quinn and addressed the group, "Now everyone is free to do what they want, but Rachel's gonna need us all to get through this. Her dads are gone and won't be home for at least a few weeks, so I'm staying here. Now I'd really love for y'all to stay with me, but that's up to y'all."

Before he could finish, Quinn interjected, "Sam and I aren't going anywhere." The rest of the glee club agreed with Quinn and promised to stay as well.

Puck sighed with relief before continuing, "We're gonna have to set up some sort of schedule. Rach can't go back to school for a while, but we can't leave her home alone either. We're gonna have to take turns staying with her, but I think it's best if only one of us misses Glee club at a time to keep Shue from getting too suspicious," Puck tried to gauge the group's response to the proposal. From what he could tell, everyone seemed to be in agreement. "Since we're all staying here," He started on a new topic, "Everyone's gonna have to figure out some incredible explanation for our parents. Santana and Artie, you two are pretty good at that kind of stuff. Can you two handle it?" The funny boy and sassy Latina glanced at each other before agreeing. The evil grin on Santana's face freaked Puck out, but it also relieved him. He knew that smile. _Santana's got this_. "Mike, Brit, you two are the best sneaks, I'm gonna need some stuff from my house. Can y'all take care of that?" Brittany smiled up at Puck from her place on the floor. He had to fight back a laugh because he knew she was completely confused. He looked to Mike who simply nodded. Puck knew Mike could make Brit understand and they too could handle the situation.

After Mike and Brittany had agreed, Quinn, Santana, Mercedes, Artie, and Tina all said that they needed stuff from their house's as well. Finn finally spoke up saying he and Sam could get their stuff as well as Quinn's, Artie's, and Mercedes. Mike agreed to Brittany and him getting the rest, including there own stuff.

"So I guess that's all." Puck began to stand up when he remembered, "Oh! Umm, I should probably warn y'all, sleep isn't gonna be so great. Rach is hav-"

As if on cue, a blood curdling scream filled the house making the entire Glee club jump to their feet and run toward their stairs. Puck was able to reach Rachel's door first and busted in to find Rachel thrashing in her bed, still screaming like she was on fire while Sam held her arms, begging for her to wake up. He looked at Puck when the door flew open, "Puck, I don't know what happened! She was fine and then-."

"Quinn!" Puck yelled out as the blond made her way through the fearful group, trying to reach the girl making the horrible screams.

"I'm here," she answered. "Rachel," she said in her calm voice once she reached the bedside, "Rachel! Wake up now. Can you hear me, Rae? Come on now, your dreaming honey."

Everyone stood in awe as Rachel began to still and her screams became mere whimpers. Quinn continued to sooth Rae until she was completely still again. When she saw the whole group standing in the entrance of Rae's room, she lifted her hand to shoo them, mouthing the word "out" to keep from waking Rachel.

Everyone walked out into the hallway, confused by Quinn's dismissal. "I don't want her to wake up with a crowded room. It would totally freak her out right now. She needs to know y'all are here before she wakes up to a room full of people," Quinn explained once she entered the hallway.

"Quinn," She heard the weak voice call for her. _Well, she's up now_, she thought. She asked the group to wait a minute, also suggesting that Finn and Mike go get Artie who had sadly been abandoned in the panic, and reentered Rach's room.

"Hey Rae," she greeted. Rachel was now sitting up in bed snuggled against Puckerman with Sam sitting on the end of the bed looking quite shaken up. "You alright? You bout scared Sammy to death."

Rachel gave Sam an apologetic look, "yeah, I'm alright. Sorry bout that."

Quinn could see Puck pull the brunette tighter against him and smiled at his actions. _I love how much you two love each other, _she thought to herself, _if only y'all would tell each other. _"Rach, are you up for some company?" Quinn asked trying to read Rae's reaction carefully.

"Yes, but I-I, it's... Quinn I'm embarrassed." Rae told her, looking down at herself, trying hard to keep from counting the bruises and cuts.

Before Quinn could respond, a sweet voice came from behind her, "B, we're your family. You have nothing to be embarrassed of." Leave it to innocent Brittany to make Rae smile and relax.

After Brit made her way to Rae's side the rest of the group flooded in behind her. Sam and Quinn moved to the side and carefully watched Rae, making sure she didn't get overwhelmed.

"Sam?" Quinn asked as her boyfriend put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Hmm?" Was Sam's only response as he refused to take his eye's off Rachel's face.

"I told Puck we would stay here with them. The rest of the group is going to too. That okay?"

Sam finally looked down at her and smiled, "I never planned on leaving. Like Brittany said, we're a family. I'm not goin' nowhere."

Quinn smiled up at him and hugged him tight.

Family. Not in the traditional sense of the word, but they were a family none the less.

* * *

**So? I know, kind of choppy. Sorry :(  
Be back soon :) **

**-Lace  
**


	7. Fall Apart

**Yay! New chapter! Aren't you excited! I am!**  
**This chapter was super fun to write so I'm pretty excited!**  
**Don't forget to review! You know how much I love them!**

* * *

Rachel relaxed against Noah as her friends came in to see her. Mercedes was sitting on one side of the bed while Santana occupied the opposite. Britt was sitting in Artie's lap listening intently on the chatter. Mike and Tina stood at the end of the bed with Finn by their side. Sam and Quinn were still holding one another in the corner. They were keeping a close eye on her and she knew it. So she'd periodically glance at them with a comfortable smile to reassure them. They were here. The people she loved more than anything. They were all here.

* * *

Mercedes was sitting comfortably on Rachel's floral bed spread as the room began to quiet. Not that it had been particularly loud to begin with, but it seemed that now everyone was being hit with the reality of the situation. Quinn had warned them about Rach's appearance, but none of them were prepared. Rachel looked like she had been wailed on for hours. What really stung Mercedes, is that could very well been what happened. She prayed it wasn't.

* * *

"Man hands," "Dwarf," "Midget," The list of names that Santana had called Rachel over the years were extensive. But now, Santana simply called her "B". Yeah, Santana and B weren't exactly best buds for a while, but Rach had a way of growing on you. She'd do something super annoying, but then she'd do something really sweet. For instance, Santana had been busting her butt for a stupid solo when low-and-behold: Mr. Shue gives it to B. Before Santana can go all Lime Heights Adjacent on the tiny girl, B spoke up. San still remembers her exact words, "Mr. Shue, while I do appreciate the vote of confidence and I am know I am well capable of singing 'Revolution', I think Santana should have the solo. Her voice is perfect for it, and I must admit she has a better emotional connection to the song." Santana was not the only person left with their jaws on the floor. Though she had never told anyone, the night of that performance, she had a meltdown involving the words "I can't do this." Rachel took her aside and told her how amazing she was and that she believed in her.

No, Santana and her B had not always been best friends, but now, they would travel to the ends of the earth and back for each other. Especially now.

* * *

Brittany knew she wasn't the brightest light in the bulb, but she stopped being embarrassed of that a long time ago. Even so, she could still understand that the room was tense and to think about her questions before actually asking them. She loved Rachel; Brittany loved everyone. Even though the room was slightly nervous that Brittany might say the wrong thing, Rachel was so grateful for the Cheerio's innocence right now. Brittany was dressed in her bunny pajamas. This included her bunny slippers and or course two bunny ears on her head band. Exactly what B needed to make her smile.

* * *

The screaming that took place only a few minutes earlier was terrifying. But being stuck downstairs, not knowing what was happening was torturous. Artie was so grateful when Mike and Finn came to help him upstairs. He wasn't so grateful when he got a look at Rachel. He couldn't take his eyes off her lips. Artie had always looked at Rachel as a friend, but even he couldn't deny she had beautiful lips. But now, as she sat there all bruised and beaten, her lips wear busted in at least three places. One of the cuts spread all the way from the inside of her lip to just under her right cheekbone. How could someone do this?

* * *

Mike and Tina held eachother's hands tightly, both trying their best not to stare at the marks that covered Rachel's body. Mainly the deep gashes on her chest. Every few moments, Rachel would pull her blanket a little tighter trying to cover the wounds, but every few moments it would fall down to her stomach revealing the marks. _Were those bite marks?_ Tina thought. _Who did this to you Rach? _Was the only question that kept repeating in Mike's mind. They weren't aware of it, but they would both have the answers to their questions soon enough.

* * *

Finn had expected to feel a whirlwind of emotions when he saw Rachel tonight, but it was mostly shock. They had been through so much this past year. He had lost his best friend, girlfriend, the child he believed to be his own, his virginity, his other girlfriend, his stepbrother to another school...would this never end? Puck and Finn had slowly mended their friendship after the whole baby-daddy drama, but their relationship would never be the same. Watching Puckerman and Rachel bond and fall in love (even if they couldn't admit it, he could see it) was so painful, but anytime he tried to move in on Rachel, and he wouldn't deny it, he had tried on numerous occasions, Rachel would reject him or Puck would cause him some sort of physical pain. So he had started to let go of her slowly, but surely. Looking at her now, he felt shocks of anger run through his veins. Whether he wanted it or not, Puckerman was going to have some help beating the crap out of the punk that did this.

* * *

Quinn stood there watching Rachel and relaxed the more she saw Rae relaxed. Taking the calm moment, Quinn started planning. The Berry's house was very large, but they needed figure out sleeping arrangements. They all couldn't just pair off into couples, there wasn't enough room and it would just complicate things. There was a large guest room down the hall from Rachel's room that she, Mercedes, and Tina could sleep in. Artie, Finn, and Mike would take the larger of the two guest bedrooms downstairs and San and Britt could take the smaller of the two, which was still stunningly large. Sam and Puck should take the master room, since it's the closes to Rachel's room. She would talk to everyone when she had a chance.

* * *

Sam stood next to Quinn with his mind running 100 mph. What was the next step tonight? Who's going to school tomorrow? Does Rachel need stitches? What was he going to tell his parents? He shoved his fingers through his thick blond hair and tried to calm down. Instead he pulled on Quinn, "Hey can we talk in the hall? I want ya to fill me in." Quinn looked back at Rae; fear filled her at the thought of leaving Rae. Sam sensed this, "Hey, we'll be right outside the door, 'k?" Once Quinn nodded, Sam gave Puck a gesture signaling that he and Quinn would be outside for a minute.

* * *

Puck rested his forehead against Rachel's hair and closed his eyes. The room was mostly quiet, except for the random comment or question here and there. The majority of what was said was words of comfort and reassurance to Rachel. When Noah told her that they were all going to be staying with her, Rachel closed her eyes and let the tears or relief fall down her face. She winced slightly as the salty tears touched her scratches and bloody lip. Seeing this, Noah wiped the tears from her cheeks. He could see that Rachel was becoming worn out, so he made a suggestion, "Hey, whadya think about some ice cream? Hmm? Mint chocolate chip?"

Rachel's stomach growled at the thought, but it also made her queasy. She knew she should eat, so she nodded her head and said, "Sounds yummy, but I don't think we have any."

"No prob!" Puck shrugged, some of us "gotta make a few runs for clothes and stuff like that, so ice cream is now added to the list." His smile was the one that said, 'aren't you proud of me?'

Rachel's eyes grew wide at his use of the word "us", "Noah, please..." She didn't want to breakdown in front of the group, but the thought of Noah's absence made her heart race and fear take over.

Realizing her concerns, Noah was quick to reassure her, "I'm not leaving baby." he kissed her on the forehead and told her he'd be right back. "Mercedes, stay with Rach," He whispered than ushered the rest of the group in the hallway, then down into the foyer, Sam and Quinn included.

"Ok, it's almost midnight now. Mike, Brittany, Finn, Sam, y'all go ahead and head out to get every one's stuff," Quinn had informed Sam that he was to help Finn, so he wasn't completely shocked at Puck's orders. "Everybody else, tell him what y'all need. Mike, as for me, I need my toothbrush, a bunch of clothes, and get my guitar," Noah continued.

"Tina? Can you and Mercedes drive to Cub's Corner and pick up a bunch of ice cream, especially mint chocolate chip, and other movie snacks. I have a feeling we're gonna be watching a whole lot of funny girl for a while.

"Artie and San, start concocting a story before the parent's start calling."

Mike piped up, telling Puck that they had all made up excuse to cover them for the night. _So that's one thing to check off the list_, Puck sighed.

Quinn dashed up stairs to switch spots with Mercedes. As six of the teenagers made their way outside arguing over which cars to take, Noah excused himself and left Artie and Santana to their scheming.

Back and Rachel's room, Quinn was laying on the bed telling Rachel about all that the group had discussed downstairs. Puck joined his two favorite girls and listened to them talk while drawing circles on the back of Rachel's palm. He listened as Quinn explained the sleeping arrangements. When she finished by saying he and Sam should take the master bedroom he sat up to protest, but Rachel beat him to it.

"No, Quinn. I'm fine with all of it, but I want Noah in here," Rachel looked to see Noah's reaction and was pleased to see his big grin. "I understand if you don't want to, but I'd also really like it if you and Sam stayed in here as well."

Rachel was a little embarrassed, so she was quite relieved when Quinn said, "Of course we will!" Quinn glanced between Puck and Rachel and decided to take her exit, "I'm gonna go get the rooms ready, k?" She gave Rae a kiss on the cheek before letting the couple have some alone time.

Noah sat at the head of the bed and after sliding his legs under the blanket with Rach; he pulled her into his lap and held her tight. "Hi," he whispered against her ear and nuzzled her neck.

"Well hello to you too," she sighed and relaxed into his arms.

"Baby?" Puck got her attention. When she looked him in the eye he asked her, "Can you tell me what happened?" He could literally see her body tense and the pain return to her eyes. As much as he wanted to take it back, he knew couldn't. He needed to know. "I'm not going anywhere Rach. I'm going to be right here. Just tell me what you can, okay?"

He waited with patience until Rachel slowly nodded her head. She took a few deep breaths before telling him what he needed to know most: who. She knew Puck wasn't stupid, he knew that her assault had been sexual and he could see how severe it was. While he would want for her to tell him everything, he wanted to know who it was the most. Rachel tried but she couldn't speak. She had dated Jesse. Told him she loved him. Almost gave her virginity to him. Noah knew all of this. What if he blamed her? She had, at one time, welcomed Jesse's advances. What if Noah thought that it was her fault for "leading Jesse on" or something like that? It would kill her! "Noah, I- you're going to hate me, Noah!" she began to sob and cling to him.

Noah was dumbfounded, "What are you talking about? Rachel, honey, I could never hate you! Look at me... look at me baby, I love you. I could never, ever hate you!" Noah felt breathless as he finished. Did he just tell Rachel he loved her? Wow, _gotta work on your timing there buddy,_ he scolded himself. Even though, he reached up and caressed her cheek, being sure to avoid any spot that might be painful, which was no easy task. "Here," he said, and he lowered them further into the bed until they were lying down with her curled up on top of him. "I'm never leaving you Rachel," he whispered and then closed his eyes. If Rachel wanted to talk she would. Until then he'd just hold on to the girl he was so desperately in love with.

Rachel laid there against Pucks chest feeling like breathing wasn't an option. "_I love you" he said "I love you". _Rachel felt so many emotions that she couldn't form words. She loved Noah Puckerman more than she's ever loved anyone! But saying those words while Jesse's name still swirled in her brain just felt wrong. Whether he knew it or not, hearing him say those words, at that moment was absolutely perfect. But for her, it wasn't the right time. Trying to compensate for not saying those words, she leaned up slightly and place one hand on his cheek, rubbing her thumb across his resent shave job. "Promise?" She asked him quietly.

Noah's eyelids began to flutter and Rachel's caress, but he didn't open them, even when she asked him to promise. Opening his eyes meant he would look up into those big brown eyes and he knew there was no way to keep himself from kissing her. He did, however, reach for her other hand and intertwined their fingers and answered her "Promise."

Rachel felt relief spread through her body and decided to tell him the truth. She slowly pushed herself up and scooted off of Noah to put some space between him. "Noah," Rach looked at Noah's gorgeous eyes and soft lips. _You take my breath away_ was all she was able to think but she bit her tongue and told him a different truth, "Noah, Jesse raped me tonight." _Wow_ she sure made that quick. She watched as Noah tried so hard to fight his emotions. She waited for a few moments, but she was pretty sure he had stopped breathing, "Noah?"

Puck knew his fingernails had dug into his palms deep enough to cause some bleeding, but he had to do something to keep from screaming. "Noah?" He heard Rachel's worried voice. He sat up and got out of the bed, trying to avoid Rachel's eyes for just a moment. He straightened the bed where he had just been before returning to his spot, sitting in Indian-style. He finally looked at Rachel and he saw all the hurt in her eyes. _Please tell me she didn't think that I wasn't abandoning her! _"Oh Rach, Come here, sweetie." Noah pulled Rachel into his lap and cradled her against him. When she started to sob he couldn't fight it anymore. At first it was only a few tears, but then he felt like something was squeezing his chest and he had to gasp for air. He began to sob quietly into Rachel's hair and held her tight. As his sobs racked his body, he clenched onto Rachel's nightgown trying to pull her closer.

Rachel had so many thoughts as Noah held her, but when began to cry against her and she could felt his chest rise and drop with ragged breaths she felt comforted. She had wanted so badly keep from completely falling apart, but knowing that she wasn't the only one who felt like bawling their eyes out was a surprising relief.

It wasn't very long until Rachel was asleep in his arms and his sobs had slowed until he could breathe normally. As he sat there looking at Rachel's black eye, busted lip, the deep gash on her left cheek, her bloody fingernails and torn up palms that laid limp in her lap and he made her another promise, _he'll regret this. I swear to you, he will regret ever laying a hand on my girl. _

* * *

**SO? Thoughts? Comments?**

**I thought I'd address the questions about Kurt. No Kurt will not be in this story, at least not yet. I'm trying to go with the time period of him being at Dalton Acadamy so he's not gonna arrive and become involve as quick as the rest of the group. **

**Enjoy and Review!**_  
_


	8. The Start of a Long Night

**I'm back! I was suffering from some super writers block, but hopefully I'm over that :)**  
**I'm sorry that I abandoned y'all! But your reviews are honestly what keep me going! I love getting an email that says "New Review"! **  
**They always make my day! **

**So here we go...**

* * *

Quinn finished folding up a quilt and placed it with the two pillows on the pull out couch that was located in Finn, Artie, and Mike's bedroom. There was a king size bed, a love seat, and a couch, in which Quinn found the hidden bed, so the boy's had more than enough room. She rechecked the room and its adjoining bathroom. Quinn could never get over how every room in this house was a "master" version. They weren't just "guest bedrooms", they were "master guest bedrooms". Everything in the Berry's house was huge! The smallest bed was the queen sized pull out. So if she heard any bickering tonight about the sleeping arrangements, she was likely to blow a gasket. Quinn prayed that she wasn't always this anal, that it was only the circumstances, and if she could have given herself a moment to think then she would have realized that that was true. But now, rushing from the boy's room to San and Brit's lavish, vintage decorated bedroom, she made no time for such thoughts. What good were they to her anyway?

About the time she finished doubling back over the cheerio duo's room, she heard soft squeaking on the staircase that weaved above the room. She made her way out and into the foyer and was met by Puck. "Did you leave her alone?" Quinn asked in surprise. Puck had been so territorially around Rae that Quinn expected him to never leave the girl's side.

"She's all but past out," Puck told her in a rough and tired voice.

Quinn could see the exhaustion mixed with extreme emotions run through Puck's body. "Go talk to San and Artie," she told him, "I'll be right there." For a minute she wasn't sure if he'd leave or not, but he finally nodded his head in agreement and made his way to the living room. Quinn walked into the kitchen on the opposite side and began to search for something to offer Puck. Normally she would just make him the typical Jack and coke, but she didn't believe alcohol was a good idea at the moment so it was just plain coke. Grabbing four out of the fridge, she went to join the group. As she was walking in, she heard _his _name: "Jesse". Well obviously Rachel had told Puck what had happened. Sadly though it had cost Quinn a toe, because at the sound of that S.O.B.'s name, Quinn lost her grip on one of the four sodas and it fell straight on her pinkie toe. Biting her lip to keep from hollering, she handed off the three remaining cokes to Santana, who had jumped up to help her.

Groaning, Quinn took a seat on the floor and removed her sandals to take a look at her toe. Seeing the rapid bruising, she had a sudden reminder: treating Rachel's wounds. "Santana, come upstairs with me. I need your help."

Puck listen carefully for the steps on the stairs to quit squeaking to signify the girls absence before turning to talk to Artie. "Okay, listen, I'm gonna be paying Jesse a visit tonight. I'm gonna ask the guys to go with me, but-"

"It's fine, Puck." Artie interrupted, "I'll stay with the girls."

Puck was relieved at Artie's offer and relaxed a little. He had half expected the other boy to try and talk him out of it, but Artie had seen what that monster did to Rachel and even _he _craved revenge. Artie also knew if anyone could deliver the desire for justice that the whole group shared, it was Noah Puckerman.

"Just so you know," Artie said "all of the girls are telling their parents that they are staying with Rachel because her dads are out of town and she didn't wanna be alone."

"Good plan," Puck nodded in approval.

"As for the guy's, we're staying with you working on a song for regionals."

"Alright. I'm just tellin' Ma that I'm staying with Rachel since the Berrys are gone." Artie gave Noah a quizzical look at his planned explanation. "My Ma loves Rae! She won't think anything of it," Noah informed him.

The boys sat for a while longer trying to figure out what to do next. Enjoying the moment of peace. The feeling that they actually had things under a semi-amount of control. Of course that feeling was soon interrupted by another one of Rachel's heartbreaking screams.

* * *

Quinn and her Latina friend enter Rae's room quietly to find the sleeping brunette struggling in her sleep against the quilt Puck had laid over her. Rachel was crying and pleading in a quiet voice.

"Oh no," Quinn was not looking forward to hearing Rae's screams again, but she knew it was only a matter of seconds. She sat down on the bed and reached for Rachel's hands and began to speak calmly "Rae, sweetie, it's Q. You're dreaming, honey. Please wake up Rach." Tears sprung into Quinn's eyes as Rachel began to struggle even harder and cry out.

"B," Santana was on the verge of falling apart as she sat down on the other side of Rach and wipe a stray tear from the sleeping girl's cheek. "B, wake up. Come on, B. Please!" San began to sob uncontrollably when she heard Rachel repeat the word "please" over and over in the weakest voice she had ever heard.

Without warning, and with both girls still by her side, Rachel's cries turned into unbearably loud screams.

Santana about jumped out of her skin, but Quinn just took a deep breath and reached out, holding Rachel's beaten face between her small hands. "Rae," Quinn cooed "wake up love. Come on now. It's just a dream. Wake up Rae."

While Quinn continued to try to wake Rachel, Puck opened the door and was quickly dismissed with the wave of Quinn's hand. Puck furrowed his eyebrows with doubt, but slowly backed out of the room anyway.

After a minute or two more, Rachel's screams quieted, opened her eyes slowly, and reached for Quinn, "Q?"

"I'm here, baby," Quinn hugged her best friend and waited for Rae to calm down.

She winced at her sore body, but Rachel was able to push her self up and relax against her headboard. "I'm sorry I scared you," she apologized.

"It's all good, B," Santana captured Rachel's attention.

Rachel smiled weakly at the cool, calm, and collected look that Santana was able to maintain even though there were still tears slipping down her tanned cheeks. Santana always tried to hold it together, even when she was falling apart.

"Rae, I meant to do this earlier, but we're gonna have to, umm... well we need to bandage you up a little bit." Quinn couldn't help but stumble over her words, but Rachel took it in stride and nodded her head. Even so, but Quinn and Santana still saw the flash of pain that appeared briefly in Rae's eyes. "Santana, can you grab a towel and a couple of wash cloths from the bathroom?"

After Santana walked out, Rachel gave Quinn that questioning/worrying look that was all too familiar. "Q," Rachel reached for Quinn's hands, "are you alright?"

Quinn didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her best friend's question. "Rae, I'm just scared of upsetting you anymore than you already are," she said.

"Quinn! How could you upset me? You being here for me is what I want."

"I just don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Rachel looked down, considering Quinn's words. When she looked up at Quinn both girls had fresh tears in their eyes, but Rachel reassured Quinn, "if I had gone to the hospital, this would be done by complete strangers. I'm just glad it's you and Santana."

Santana was now back at Rachel's bedside and Quinn was reaching for the first aid kit that had previously been forgotten. Santana took the damp wash cloth and wiped off the dry blood on Rachel's cheeks, lips, and nose. Quinn quickly followed behind with some antibiotic ointment and a couple of band aids. They followed the same process for both of her arms. Rachel's hands had to be wrapped due to the amount of damage to her palms and fingers. After removing Rachel's gown, the girls bandaged about five gashes varying from mild to gut wrenchingly severe. Facing what she had been so desperately trying to avoid, Quinn looked closely at the bite marks on each of Rachel's breast. Quinn swallowed hard trying to fight the bile that begin to rise in her throat. "Rae, those look like they need stitches," she told her.

"Quinn, I don't care if I have to sew them myself, I am NOT going to the hospital!"

Rachel's voice was almost scary, but of course Santana was the first to break the tension, "Whoa, let's not go all survivor island just yet! Q, find me some butterfly bandages and give me that bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Now this may sting a little, B"

Rachel squeezed her eyes tight trying to ignore the sting. While Santana poured, Quinn dried it off before Santana finished it off with three butterfly band aids for each wound.

The girls worked with Rae's legs, focusing on the damage to her inner thighs. Quinn made a mental note to make some ice packs for the bruises covering Rachel's legs.

Quinn sat up and wrapped her arms around Rae as San moved up the beaten girl's to wipe away the remaining blood. A shock of fury ran through her veins at the sight. There was an unbelievable amount of dry blood covering Rachel's most intimate parts. Jesse had obviously been rough in every way. She helped clear the white flesh from the dark red stain while Rach sobbed in Quinn's arms. "I'm so sorry sweetie," San whispered. She knew that she was causing Rachel a severe amount of pain due to the damage Jesse had inflicted there.

They finished by looking at Rachel's back which was pretty much one big bruise with a few long scrapes. Rachel explain that Jesse had thrown her against the wall of the school and dumpster pretty hard a few timed. Quinn and Santana had to bite their tongues before their anger exploded in front of Rachel.

Quinn gave Rae a couple of Advil for the bruises and started to pick up the bandage wrappers and towels. She carried the cloths to Rachel's bathroom and began to rinse the blood from each of them one by one. Quinn felt the strange shift, it felt as if time had slowed down as she watched the water run from the silver faucet and splash on the cloth. She watched the clear water turn to a crimson red as it mixed with Rachel's blood. Quinn felt frozen in place. She was in shock at all the blood that was held in only one washcloth. She struggled to, but she finally shook herself out of her dazed state only to feel a slow tear trickle down her cheek. She slammed the water off with anger and gripped the vanity, gasping for air. She couldn't breath. Why couldn't she breath? It was as if the whole situation had just hit her at full force. She didn't know how long she stood there gasping for breath, but she suddenly heard Rae calling her name and it was as if all the air she had been searching for rushed to her lungs instantly. Catching her breath and pushing aside the overwhelming emotions, she walked back in the bedroom.

Santana had helped Rachel back into her night gown then settled in beside her. Quinn had found Santana's arms wrapped around a whimpering Rachel. Walking to Rachel's dresser, Q turned on the iPod to the "Broadway" play list then joined the girls. The three of them sat there crying until they all drifted off to sleep. Sleep that was, of course, short lived.

* * *

It was 12 on the dot when Mercedes and Tina returned with ice cream, popcorn, and tons of candy. With Artie's help, the girls found the proper places for all the food while Puckerman went to check on Rachel and the girls. When he saw all three of them cuddle up asleep, he was surprised his mind didn't automatically turn to inappropriate thoughts, _guess that's what happens when someone you truly love is hurt_, he figured. Sitting down in the rocking chair beside the bed, he watched the girls, thankful that Rachel seemed comfortable and she wasn't showing any signs of having a nightmare. It was only a short time before he was asleep himself.

* * *

Sam and Finn arrived at the house around 1:30 with Brit and Mike fifteen minutes behind. They had been in the house for what felt like seconds before the screaming started. No one else was downstairs so they rushed towards the screams coming from Rachel's room. Everyone including Artie was already there, but this time it was much more chaotic. Rachel's screams weren't like before, these were literally loud enough to hurt their ears and this time there were words falling from her lips and embracing the volume of her screams. Over and over again she screamed the same words: "Stop it! Please!" These words sent sharp pain through all of their hearts.

The chaos didn't end with the screams. Tina and Santana were doing their best to restrain Rachel's flaring arms, while Noah was freaking out in the corner. Quinn was hurrying back from the bathroom with towels. The returning foursome stood in shock until Quinn started barking orders. Apparently when this screaming attack hit, Rachel had been able to dig her nails across both of her cheeks and created deep gashes in her forearms before anyone could stop her.

Puck stood in the corner watching the scene that was turning blurry before his eyes. Rach's screams, Brittany's cries, Quinn loud demands, they all started to blend in his ears turning into buzzing sounds. He knew he should be over there trying to help stop the bleeding, but he thinks he's about to be sick or something, because he's pretty sure he hasn't breathed since this whole escapade began 5 minutes ago. As he bent over, resting his hands on his knees, he felt someone grab his shoulder and pull him up. Mike was trying to usher Puck towards the door, but that was all it took to make Puck act. He rushed over to Rachel and sat behind her, laying one leg on either side of her. He held Rach tight against his chest, trying to keep her still long enough for Quinn to stop the bleeding.

Rachel continued to scream and struggle against all the attempted restraints. She was stuck between relieving the attack and reality. She could hear her screams and the chaos around her, but she didn't know how to pull herself from the nightmare that was currently torturing her. Suddenly there was a different noise. A noise that help quiet her screams and bring her back to reality. Noah's soft voice vibrated against her ear singing "Sweet Caroline". her eyes began to flutter open at the warmth of his breath and the feel of his hand pressed against her flat stomach. "Noah?" she whispered.

The whole room relaxed as Rachel woke up. Santana and Tina released Rae's arms and were able to help Quinn bandage up the gashes on her forearms while Sam cleaned up the fresh scratches on Rae's cheeks. "What happened?" Rachel asked.

Santana was the first to speak "You had a bad dream, B."

Rachel groaned and tried to lift herself up only to fall back against Noah's chest when her arms started to give way.

Everyone stood there in momentary awkwardness as the group tried to decide their next move. It was now 2 am and everyone was exhausted, so Quinn took decided to call it a night. She asked Noah to go get some extra blankets and pillows from the linen closet and for everyone else to go to sleep.

As the Glee Club made their way out or Rachel's room and into the hallway, Puck pulled the boys aside. He felt the anger fill him as he informed Sam and the others about his plans to _visit_ Jesse. As he had hoped, there were no objections, only a shared rage between the group that settled on all of them as they made their way to their assigned rooms. They may have been headed to bed, but this night was far from over.

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**SO? Please review! **  
**Again, I challenge you to pick your favorite line/portion/whatever part of the story it let me know! **  
**LoveLoveLove**  
**-Lace**


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